Twenty years ago, a race unfolded at Estoril that remains etched in memory, and as Motorsport.com reports, it produced the closest finish in MotoGP history. On 15 October 2006, Toni Elias claimed his maiden and only premier-class victory by beating Valentino Rossi by just 0.002 seconds.
Elias had arrived at the Portuguese Grand Prix sitting 13th in the championship. Attention was firmly fixed on the title contenders: Nicky Hayden, the championship leader and most consistent rider since Barcelona, and Valentino Rossi, who was clawing back a deficit from a difficult start to the season by stringing together podium finishes.
I was cheering for Elias and Edwards really hard in the motorhome,
Starting from pole position, Rossi held the lead off the line while Elias climbed from eighth to fifth early on, capitalising on a pass on Loris Capirossi and a crash involving Casey Stoner and Sete Gibernau, who could not avoid the Australian's Ducati. Drama struck the championship fight on lap four when Dani Pedrosa attempted to overtake Hayden, losing control and taking his teammate down with him. As Hayden angrily punched the gravel in frustration, Elias continued his charge.
Elias moved up to third, battling Colin Edwards before launching an extremely late braking manoeuvre at Turn 1 with seven laps remaining to overtake Rossi for the lead. Kenny Roberts Jr. then entered the fray, overtaking Rossi for the lead with two laps remaining on the bike fielded by his family-run team. As the final lap began, Roberts led Rossi and Elias.
Elias pulled off another incredible late braking move at the first corner, going from third to first. Rossi quickly dispatched Roberts and reclaimed the lead at the chicane, entering the final straight in front. Elias launched one last overtaking attempt, and the pair crossed the finish line side by side, with the timing system delivering a verdict of 0.002 seconds. Alex Criville, who had shared an identical winning margin against Mick Doohan at Brno 10 years earlier, was present in the parc ferme to congratulate Elias.
Out of breath in the post-race press conference where Rossi humorously wiped him down, Elias said, "I saw that Valentino had more or less the same pace as me. Kenny came back quickly. I saw an opportunity and did my best. When I saw the opportunity, I gave more than 100%, and it's an incredible moment. I can't believe I've won this race."
The result left Hayden eight points behind Rossi heading into the Valencia finale. "I was cheering for Elias and Edwards really hard in the motorhome," Hayden said. "I swear I cheered for him even more than his parents did!" Rossi would later crash at Valencia, handing Hayden the world title. Elias became the inaugural Moto2 world champion years later and added a MotoAmerica title in 2017.
